This romance novel is set in a small New England town in the late 19th
Century. The story revolves around Emma, the unfortunate young wife of
the overbearing town mayor, Emma's friends, and the owner of a new hat
shop in town, Frederick Ash (a hat store owner named Fred!). This new
millinery shop and its handsome and promiscuous hatter have a profound
effect on Hollybrook (and the women enjoy their beautiful new hats).